The Dutch Healthcare Institute has declared the dossier concerning the medicinal product ruxolitinib cream (Opzelura®), for certain people with a depigmenting skin condition (vitiligo) affecting the face, complete and has started the assessment.

Patient association Vitiligo.nl not on the sidelines of the procedure Advice – whether or not to reimburse ruxolitinib cream (Opzelura®) for the treatment of the skin condition vitiligo on the face.

Incyte, the supplier of Opzelura, has consulted experts due to the lack of specific Dutch evidence for many assumptions.
The expert consultation was conducted in accordance with the Guideline for conducting economic evaluations. The experts—six dermatologists, the chair of Vitiligo.nl, and a skin therapist—provided both qualitative (interviews) and quantitative (questionnaires) input to ensure a realistic representation of Dutch clinical practice. The insights from this consultation were used to support the assumptions in both the budget impact analysis and the cost-effectiveness dossier, with the aim of representing the Dutch situation as accurately as possible.

The input from the chairman of Vitiligo.nl, together with that of the other experts, has led to the following validated assumptions:

• Mean percentage of BSA that vitiligo patients will treat with ruxolitinib cream: 3.0% and a mean affected BSA of 5.4%
BSA: Body Surface Area

• Estimated adherence: 69.4%
Adherence means carrying out your treatment as agreed.

• Fingertip Unit (FTU) is considered a reliable method to determine the required amount of cream per BSA.
A fingertip unit is a measure used by doctors and pharmacists to easily explain how much ointment or cream you should apply to your skin.

Now that the file has been declared complete, the Dutch Healthcare Institute will assess whether ruxolitinib cream (Opzelura®) can be reimbursed from the basic health insurance package.

For more information about the advice from the Dutch Healthcare Institute, the associated planning, and an explanation of how the advice is developed, see the Dutch Healthcare Institute website.